Abkhazia Projects

The Republic of Abkhazia needs investment to develop economically.  I am hearing that academics, journalists and foreign policy experts recognize that there shouldbe a dialogue with Abkhazia and that business and political ties need to be fostered.  Without this Abkhazia, remains isolated and this is does not promote peace, prosperity and stability in the region.  There is no question that Russia and Russian investors recognize what is obvious to me:  Abkhazia is ripe for development.  However, if the only outside investors are Russian, Abkhazia will not develop as quickly.  There needs to be money from a larger universe of investors and the Abkhaz authorities recognize this.

I see a number of great opportunities in Abkhazia.  A large, international infrastructure investment group contacted me last year.  They pointed out that the airport in Sukhum has an excellent geographic location and with the longest runway in the Caucasus it would be ideal for an international "hub and spoke" airport with flights on to Central Asia, the Persian Gulf and Russia.  

The port in Sukhum needs to be redeveloped also.  Currently, there are only Turkish merchant vessels docking there.  However, as Abkhazia grows ( reportedly the economy nearly doubled in 2009), there will be more trade and the small, out-dated facility needs to be rebuilt.

Abkhazia sits just across the border from the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  Sochi will also host Formula 1 Racing starting in 2014 and World Cup football matches will be played there in 2018.  Sochi will be an international destination because of this and because of the appeal to beach-goers and skiers.  Because of its proximity to Sochi and the large number of Russian tourists who view it as the a subtropical vacation paradise, Abkhazia needs many hotels to replace the aged Soviet built structure on its beaches.   One of the most intriguing locations is Pitsunda, a few miles from Gagra.  The Soviet-era resort there sits on about 82 acres of beachfront property and with nearly 3,000 rooms is the largest resort in the country.  Views from the property include not only the beaches, but the spectacular snow-covered (even in hot summer) Caucasus Mountains.  

Abkhazia is also considering allowing Russian citizens the right to buy apartments.  When that happens, a lot of people will view it as an attractive place to own a vacation home.  There are good locations available to buy and build.

In the border zone, there are great locations available to build hotels.  Russia is planning to rebuild the border crossing to accommodate more cross border traffic and trade.  This will  make these locations that are only a few kilometers for the Olympic Village and the Formula ! course very attractive.

The mountains are a big draw for summertime tourism, but the winter potential of the Caucasus is even greater with skiing.  At this moment, there are no ski resorts in Abkhazia.  However, the mountains reach from the sea to altitudes of over 13,000 feet.  There are several potential ski resort locations close to the border with Russia and further down the coast.

Abkhazia shares the hydroelectric power station at Inguri with Georgia.  This provides the electricity for the country and about 40% of Georgia's electricity.  There is significant untapped potential in Abkhazia's rivers.  The Russian oil company, Rosneft,which recently sold a state to BP, is working on a site on Abkhazia's coastal shelft that is supposed to be significant.  The impact to Abkhazia s unknown, but probably significant.

This is only a small sample of the projects in the Republic of Abkhazia.